The June Rebellion, also called the Paris Uprising of 1832 (), was an

anti-monarchist Criticism of monarchy has occurred since ancient times. It can be targeted against the general form of government—monarchy—or more specifically, to particular monarchical governments as controlled by hereditary royal families. In some cases, ...

insurrection Rebellion is an uprising that resists and is organized against one's government. A rebel is a person who engages in a rebellion. A rebel group is a consciously coordinated group that seeks to gain political control over an entire state or a ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

ian

republicans Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

on 5 and 6 June 1832. The rebellion originated in an attempt by republicans to reverse the establishment in 1830 of the

July Monarchy The July Monarchy (), officially the ''Kingdom of France'' (), was a liberalism, liberal constitutional monarchy in France under , starting on 9 August 1830, after the revolutionary victory of the July Revolution of 1830, and ending 26 Februar ...

of , shortly after the deaths from

cholera Cholera () is an infection of the small intestine by some Strain (biology), strains of the Bacteria, bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea last ...

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

and General , a popular former Army commander who became a member of the French parliament and was critical of the monarchy. The riots that followed Lamarque's funeral sparked the rebellion. This was the last outbreak of violence linked with the

July Revolution The French Revolution of 1830, also known as the July Revolution (), Second French Revolution, or ("Three Glorious ays), was a second French Revolution after French Revolution, the first of 1789–99. It led to the overthrow of King Cha ...

of 1830. The French author memorialized the rebellion in his 1862 novel , and it figures prominently in the

stage musical Musical theatre is a form of theatre, theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, ...

and

films A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of Visual arts, visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are gen ...

that are based on the book.

Background

In the 1830

, the elected

Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourb ...

had established a constitutional monarchy and replaced

Charles X Charles X may refer to: * Charles X of France (1757–1836) * Charles X Gustav (1622–1660), King of Sweden * Charles, Cardinal de Bourbon (1523–1590), recognized as Charles X of France but renounced the royal title See also * * King Charle ...

of the

House of Bourbon The House of Bourbon (, also ; ) is a dynasty that originated in the Kingdom of France as a branch of the Capetian dynasty, the royal House of France. Bourbon kings first ruled France and Kingdom of Navarre, Navarre in the 16th century. A br ...

with his more liberal cousin

Louis-Philippe Louis Philippe I (6 October 1773 – 26 August 1850), nicknamed the Citizen King, was King of the French from 1830 to 1848, the penultimate monarch of France, and the last French monarch to bear the title "King". He abdicated from his throne ...

. This angered

who saw one king replaced by another, and by 1832 there was a sentiment that their revolution, for which many had died, had been stolen. However, over and above the easily provoked 'fury' or 'rage' of the Parisian population (at the differences between their poverty and the differences in income and opportunities of the

bourgeoisie The bourgeoisie ( , ) are a class of business owners, merchants and wealthy people, in general, which emerged in the Late Middle Ages, originally as a "middle class" between the peasantry and aristocracy. They are traditionally contrasted wi ...

and the aristocracy),

Bonapartists Bonapartism () is the political ideology supervening from Napoleon Bonaparte and his followers and successors. The term was used in the narrow sense to refer to people who hoped to restore the House of Bonaparte and its style of government. In ...

for their part lamented the loss of Napoleon's empire, and the

Legitimists The Legitimists () are royalists who adhere to the rights of dynastic succession to the French crown of the descendants of the eldest branch of the House of Bourbon, Bourbon dynasty, which was overthrown in the 1830 July Revolution. They reject ...

supported the deposed Bourbon dynasty, seeking to empower the man they regarded as the true king: Charles's grandson and designated successor

Henri, Count of Chambord Henri, Count of Chambord and Duke of Bordeaux (; 29 September 1820 – 24 August 1883), was the Legitimist pretender to the throne of France as Henri V from 1844 until his death in 1883. Henri was the only son of Charles Ferdinand, Duke ...

Causes and catalysts

Leading up to the rebellion, there were significant economic problems, particularly acute in the period from 1827 to 1832. Harvest failures, food shortages, and increases in the cost of living created discontent throughout the classes. In the spring of 1832,

suffered a widespread outbreak of

, which ended with a death toll of 18,402 in the city and 100,000 across France. The poor neighbourhoods of Paris were devastated by the disease, arousing suspicion that the government had poisoned wells. The

epidemic An epidemic (from Greek ἐπί ''epi'' "upon or above" and δῆμος ''demos'' "people") is the rapid spread of disease to a large number of hosts in a given population within a short period of time. For example, in meningococcal infection ...

soon claimed two well-known victims. Prime Minister

Casimir Perier Casimir is a Latin version of the Polish male name Kazimierz (). The original Polish feminine form is Kazimiera, in Latin and other languages rendered as Casimira. It has two possible meanings: "preacher of peace" or alternatively "destroyer of p ...

fell sick and died on 16 May, and the hero of the Napoleonic wars and reformer

Jean Maximilien Lamarque Divisional-General Jean Maximilien Lamarque (22 July 1770 – 1 June 1832) was a French army officer and politician who served in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. Lamarque served with distinction in many of Napoleon's campaigns, an ...

died on 1 June. Perier was given a grand

state funeral A state funeral is a public funeral ceremony, observing the strict rules of protocol, held to honour people of national significance. State funerals usually include much pomp and ceremony as well as religious overtones and distinctive elements o ...

. The funeral of the popular Lamarque — described by Hugo as "loved by the people because he accepted the chances the future offered, loved by the mob because he served the emperor well" — was an opportunity to demonstrate the strength of the opposition. The monarchy of

Louis Philippe Louis Philippe I (6 October 1773 – 26 August 1850), nicknamed the Citizen King, was King of the French from 1830 to 1848, the penultimate monarch of France, and the last French monarch to bear the title "King". He abdicated from his throne ...

, which had become the government of the middle class, was now attacked from two opposite sides at once. Before these two deaths, there had been two significant rebellions. In France's second city,

Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

, a workers' uprising known as the

Canut revolt The Canut revolts () is the collective name for the major revolts by Lyonnais silk workers () which occurred in 1831, 1834 and 1848. They were among the first well-defined worker uprisings of the period known as the Industrial Revolution. The Fi ...

had occurred in December 1831, caused by economic hardship. Troops were sent in after members of the local National Guard defected to the rebels. In February 1832 in Paris supporters of the Bourbons—the

, or

Carlists Carlism (; ; ; ) is a Traditionalist and Legitimist political movement in Spain aimed at establishing an alternative branch of the Bourbon dynasty, one descended from Don Carlos, Count of Molina (1788–1855), on the Spanish throne. The ...

as they were called by their adversaries—made an attempt to carry off the royal family in what would become known as the "conspiracy of

rue des Prouvaires ''Ruta graveolens'', commonly known as rue, common rue or herb-of-grace, is a species of the genus ''Ruta'' grown as an ornamental plant and herb. It is native to the Mediterranean. It is grown throughout the world in gardens, especially for it ...

". This was followed by an insurrection in the Bourbon heartland of the

Vendée Vendée () is a department in the Pays de la Loire region in Western France, on the Atlantic coast. In 2019, it had a population of 685,442.Caroline, Duchess of Berry, mother of Henri, Count of Chambord, the Legitimist claimant to the throne as 'Henri V'. The duchess was captured in late 1832 and imprisoned until 1833. After this, the Legitimists renounced war and fell back on the press as a weapon.

Insurrections

The republicans were led by

secret societies A secret society is an organization about which the activities, events, inner functioning, or membership are concealed. The society may or may not attempt to conceal its existence. The term usually excludes covert groups, such as intelligence a ...

, formed of the most determined and ferocious members of their movement. These groups planned to provoke riots similar to those that had led to the 1830 July Revolution against the ministers of

. The "

Society of the Rights of Man The Society of the Rights of Man (, SDH) was a French republican association with Jacobin roots, formed during the July Revolution in 1830, replacing another republican association, the Society of the Friends of the People (France). It played a m ...

" was one of the most instrumental. It was organized like an army, divided into sections of twenty members each (to evade the law that forbade the association of more than twenty persons), with a president and vice president for each section. The republican conspirators made their move at the public funeral of General Lamarque on 5 June. Groups of demonstrators took charge of the cortege and redirected it to the , where the

Revolution In political science, a revolution (, 'a turn around') is a rapid, fundamental transformation of a society's class, state, ethnic or religious structures. According to sociologist Jack Goldstone, all revolutions contain "a common set of elements ...

had begun in 1789. Parisian workers and local youth were reinforced by

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Polish people, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken * Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin ...

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

and

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

refugees, who had fled to Paris in the aftermath of crackdowns on republican and nationalist activities in their various homelands. They gathered around the

catafalque A catafalque is a raised bier, box, or similar platform, often movable, that is used to support the casket, coffin, or body of a dead person during a Christian funeral or memorial service. Following a Roman Catholic Requiem Mass, a catafalqu ...

on which the body rested. Speeches were made about Lamarque's support for Polish and Italian liberty, of which he had been a strong advocate in the months before his death. When a red flag bearing the words ("Liberty or Death") was raised, the crowd broke into disorder and shots were exchanged with government troops. The

Marquis de Lafayette Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier de La Fayette, Marquis de La Fayette (; 6 September 1757 – 20 May 1834), known in the United States as Lafayette (), was a French military officer and politician who volunteered to join the Conti ...

, who had given a speech in praise of Lamarque, called for calm, but the outbreak spread. The subsequent uprising put the roughly 3,000 insurgents in control of much of the eastern and central districts of Paris, between Chatelet, the Arsenal and the

Faubourg Saint-Antoine The Faubourg Saint-Antoine () was one of the traditional suburbs of Paris, France. It grew up to the east of the Bastille around the abbey of Saint-Antoine-des-Champs, and ran along the Rue du Faubourg Saint-Antoine. Location The Faubourg Sain ...

, for one night. Cries were heard that the rioters would sup at the

Tuileries Palace The Tuileries Palace (, ) was a palace in Paris which stood on the right bank of the Seine, directly in the west-front of the Louvre Palace. It was the Parisian residence of most French monarchs, from Henri IV to Napoleon III, until it was b ...

that evening. However, the rebellion failed to spread further. During the night of 5–6 June the 20,000 part-time militiamen of the Paris

National Guard National guard is the name used by a wide variety of current and historical uniformed organizations in different countries. The original National Guard was formed during the French Revolution around a cadre of defectors from the French Guards. ...

were reinforced by about 40,000 regular army troops under the command of the Comte de Lobau. This force occupied the peripheral districts of the capital. The insurgents made their stronghold in the

Faubourg Saint-Martin "Faubourg" () is an ancient French term historically equivalent to "fore-town" (now often termed suburb or ). The earliest form is , derived from Latin , 'out of', and Vulgar Latin (originally Germanic) , 'town' or 'fortress'. Traditionally, th ...

, in the historic city centre. They built barricades in the narrow streets around

rue Saint-Martin ''Ruta graveolens'', commonly known as rue, common rue or herb-of-grace, is a species of the genus ''Ruta'' grown as an ornamental plant and herb. It is native to the Mediterranean. It is grown throughout the world in gardens, especially for it ...

and rue Saint-Denis. On the morning of 6 June the last rebels were surrounded at the intersection of rues Saint-Martin and Saint-Merry. At this point Louis-Philippe decided to show himself in the streets to confirm that he was still in control of the capital. Returning to Paris from

Saint-Cloud Saint-Cloud () is a French commune in the western suburbs of Paris, France, from the centre of Paris. Like other communes of Hauts-de-Seine such as Marnes-la-Coquette, Neuilly-sur-Seine and Vaucresson, Saint-Cloud is one of France's wealthie ...

, he met his ministers and generals at the Tuileries and declared a state of siege, then rode through the area of the rising, to the applause of the troops. The final struggle came at the Cloître Saint-Merry, where fighting continued until the early evening of 6 June. Total casualties in the rising were about 800. The army and national guard lost 73 killed and 344 wounded; on the insurgent side there were 93 killed and 291 wounded. The forces of the insurrection were spent.

Aftermath

The government portrayed the rebels as an extremist minority. Louis-Philippe had shown more energy and personal courage than his Bourbon predecessor

had during the

two years before. When the king appeared in public, his supporters greeted him with cheers. General Sébastiani, the Foreign Minister, who directed government forces, stated that local citizens caught up in events congratulated him: "They accepted us with cries of ''Vive le Roi''

ong live the King Ong or ONG may refer to: Arts and media * Ong's Hat, a collaborative work of fiction * “Ong Ong”, a song by Blur from the album The Magic Whip Places * Ong, Nebraska, US, city * Ong's Hat, New Jersey, US, ghost town * Ong River, Odisha, India ...

and ''Vive la liberté''

ong live Liberty Ong or ONG may refer to: Arts and media * Ong's Hat, a collaborative work of fiction * “Ong Ong”, a song by Blur from the album The Magic Whip Places * Ong, Nebraska, US, city * Ong's Hat, New Jersey, US, ghost town * Ong River, Odisha, India ...

showing their joy at the success we had just obtained". Subsequent identification of rebels revealed that most (66%) were working-class, a high proportion being construction workers. Most others (34%) were shopkeepers or clerks. A large number of weapons were confiscated in raids, and there were fears that martial law would be imposed. The government, which had come to power in a revolution, distanced itself from its own revolutionary past, famously removing from view Delacroix's painting ''

Liberty Leading the People ''Liberty Leading the People'' ( ) is a painting of the Romantic era by the French artist Eugène Delacroix, commemorating the July Revolution of 1830 that toppled King Charles X (''r.'' 1824–1830). A bare-breasted “woman of the people” w ...

'', which had been commissioned to commemorate the events of 1830. According to

Albert Boime Albert Boime (March 17, 1933 – October 18, 2008) was an American art historian and author of more than 20 art history books and numerous academic articles. He was a professor of art history at the University of California, Los Angeles, for thre ...

, "After the uprising at the funeral of Lamarque in June 1832, it was never again openly displayed for fear of setting a bad example". A young painter, Michel Geoffroy, was charged with starting the rebellion by waving the red flag. He was sentenced to death, but a series of legal appeals led to a prison sentence. The real flag-bearer was found a month later, and imprisoned for just a month due to his obvious mental instability. Seven of the 82 trials led to other death sentences, all commuted to terms of imprisonment. Republicans used the trials to build support for their cause. Several rebels delivered republican speeches at their trial, including

Charles Jeanne Charles Jeanne (15 May 1800 – 11 July 1837) was one of the leaders of the Parisian June Rebellion in 1832. He died of tuberculosis in 1837. His memoir (''At five o'clock we will all be dead'') helped to inspire Victor Hugo and the barricade sce ...

, one of the working-class leaders, who proudly defended his actions. He was convicted and imprisoned, and became a republican martyr. A pamphlet published in 1836 compared the last stand of the republicans to the heroic resistance of the 300 Spartans at the

Battle of Thermopylae The Battle of Thermopylae ( ) was fought in 480 BC between the Achaemenid Empire, Achaemenid Persian Empire under Xerxes I and an alliance of Polis, Greek city-states led by Sparta under Leonidas I. Lasting over the course of three days, it wa ...

A republican is virtue, perseverance; is devotion personified... eis Leonidas dying at Thermopylae, at the head of his 300 Spartans; he is also the 72 heroes who defended during 48 hours the approaches of the Cloître Saint-Merry from 60,000 men and who… threw themselves onto bayonets to obtain a glorious death.

Louis-Philippe's regime was finally overthrown in the

French Revolution of 1848 The French Revolution of 1848 (), also known as the February Revolution (), was a period of civil unrest in France, in February 1848, that led to the collapse of the July Monarchy and the foundation of the French Second Republic. It sparked t ...

, though the subsequent

French Second Republic The French Second Republic ( or ), officially the French Republic (), was the second republican government of France. It existed from 1848 until its dissolution in 1852. Following the final defeat of Napoleon, Napoleon Bonaparte at the Battle ...

was short-lived. In the 1848 Revolution,

Friedrich Engels Friedrich Engels ( ;"Engels"
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''.Hôtel de Ville.

Victor Hugo and ''Les Misérables''

On 5 June 1832, young

Victor Hugo Victor-Marie Hugo, vicomte Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romanticism, Romantic author, poet, essayist, playwright, journalist, human rights activist and politician. His most famous works are the novels ''The Hunchbac ...

was writing a play in the

Tuileries Gardens The Tuileries Garden (, ) is a public garden between the Louvre and the Place de la Concorde in the 1st arrondissement of Paris, France. Created by Catherine de' Medici as the garden of the Tuileries Palace in 1564, it was opened to the public in ...

when he heard the sound of gunfire from the direction of

Les Halles Les Halles (; 'The Halls') was Paris' central fresh food market. It last operated on 12 January 1973 and was replaced by an underground shopping centre and a park. The unpopular modernist development was demolished yet again in 2010, and replac ...

. The park-keeper had to unlock the gate of the deserted gardens to let Hugo out. Instead of hurrying home, he followed the sounds through the empty streets, unaware that half of Paris had already fallen to the revolutionaries. All about Les Halles were barricades. Hugo headed north up rue Montmartre, then turned right onto Passage du Saumon (currently called rue Bachaumont), the last turning before rue du Cadran (currently called rue Léopold-Bellan), which prior to 1807 had been called rue du Bout du Monde. When he was halfway down the alley, the grilles at either end were slammed shut. Hugo was surrounded by barricades and found shelter between some columns in the street, where all the shops were shuttered. For a quarter of an hour, bullets flew both ways. In his novel ''

Les Misérables ''Les Misérables'' (, ) is a 19th-century French literature, French Epic (genre), epic historical fiction, historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published on 31 March 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. '' ...

'', published thirty years later in 1862, Hugo depicts the period leading up to this rebellion and follows the lives and interactions of several characters over a twenty-year period. The novel begins in 1815, the year of

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

's final defeat and climaxes with the battles of the 1832 June Rebellion. An outspoken republican activist, Hugo unquestionably favored the revolutionaries, although in ''Les Misérables'' he wrote about Louis-Philippe in sympathetic terms, as well as criticising him. ''Les Misérables'' gave the relatively little-known 1832 rebellion widespread renown. The novel is one of the few works of literature that discuss this June Rebellion and the events leading up to it, though many who have not read the book often wrongly assume that it takes place either during the more widely known French Revolution of 1789–1799 or the

References

{{Authority control Political history of Paris 19th-century rebellions Conflicts in 1832 Rebellions in France July Monarchy June 1832 Monarchism in France 1830s in Paris Epidemic riots 1832 crimes in France Insurgencies in Paris Louis Philippe I Political riots in France 19th-century political riots